Name: A Syrup for Cough
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons solution of gum ammoniac; 2 ounces vinegar; 2 ounces oxymel; 2 ounces simple cinnamon-water; 1 ounce common water; 1 ounce balsamic syrup; equal parts lemon juice, honey, and sugar candy

Why it works: Syrup and sugar match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,842 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓

A Syrup for Cough

Ingredients

2 tablespoons solution of gum ammoniac
2 ounces vinegar
2 ounces oxymel
2 ounces simple cinnamon-water
1 ounce common water
1 ounce balsamic syrup
equal parts lemon juice, honey, and sugar candy

Directions

Take 2 tablespoons of the solution of gum ammoniac three to four times a day.
Mix 2 ounces of vinegar, 2 ounces of oxymel, and 2 ounces of simple cinnamon-water.
Add 1 ounce of common water and 1 ounce of balsamic syrup to the mixture.
Take 1 tablespoon of this mixture three to four times a day.
For a soothing syrup, combine equal parts of lemon juice, honey, and sugar candy, and take 1 tablespoon as needed.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

Syrup + sugartop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together5,842 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Cinnamon + lemontop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together7,950 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Cinnamon + honeytop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,446 recipes

Shared aroma: 4-methoxybenzaldehyde (sweet, anise).
Cinnamon + sugartop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together30,779 recipes

Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Vinegar + honeytop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,586 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

Cinnamon and sugar barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 30,779 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

Swap the lemon

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (vinegar, cinnamon, syrup, honey, sugar):

Vanillafits better
Pearfits better
Figfits better
Lemonthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against vinegar, cinnamon, syrup, honey, sugar. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.